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Torsten Bell

Torsten Bell

The Guardian

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Wealthy parents’ greatest asset is the assets they will pass on

Parents shape our lives. There’s the love or its absence – and the genetics. On the financial side, academics focus on intergenerational income...

29.12.2024 20

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Rudolph’s never going to get a very shiny new role in Santa’s family firm

Santa has a great reputation. Generous, jolly, snazzily dressed. But he’s obviously a terrible employer. The elves are entirely unpaid for their...

22.12.2024 4

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

How do we bring joy this Christmas? Build homes, mend potholes, restore trust

Most people love Christmas, but attitudes towards politics in recent years? Frustrated, more than festive. Understanding why is crucial to...

15.12.2024 60

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

The science behind winning a Nobel prize? Being a man from a wealthy family

We like scientific breakthroughs. Humanity ultimately relies on them. So it matters if we’re missing out on discoveries. But compelling evidence...

07.12.2024 4

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

The rich will pay up when prodded. So let’s make tax-collecting great again

What do we want? More tax inspectors. When do we want them? Ideally a few years back, but now will do. Maybe not the most exciting protest song,...

01.12.2024 10

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

From Sure Start to youth centres, cutting children’s services is a false economy

On 22 February 2019, I spoke at a conference in memory of a good friend, Tessa Jowell. The event was about her legacy, marking 20 years since the...

24.11.2024 20

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

To turn Britain around, we need a proper understanding of life for poorer workers

Things have not being going well for low- and middle-income Britain: wages flatlining, public services crumbling and, as a result, faith in...

17.11.2024 40

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Create university ‘cold spots’ and it’s the disadvantaged that will suffer

Too many people go to university is a popular argument. I disagree. Insofar as our economy does not create enough highly skilled jobs for the...

10.11.2024 10

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Chris Riddell on the Tory nightmare after Halloween – cartoon

02.11.2024 4

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

I didn’t mind my unusual first name – until I found out it could cost me dearly

Names matter. I’ve written a whole book about our country being called Great Britain at a time when things haven’t been going great. And being...

02.11.2024 4

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Chris Riddell on Donald Trump: ‘Hitler did some good things…’ – cartoon

26.10.2024 5

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Why you should give your child a dumbphone if you want them to be smarter

First, the good news. We middle-aged Brits are no longer condemned to the conversation- and soul-destroying monomania of debating house prices....

26.10.2024 30

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Here’s why sex discrimination at work doesn’t go away until women are in charge

Single-sex teams are something for the football pitch, not the workplace. It’s not the 1950s. Many studies show the benefits of mixed teams: among...

19.10.2024 1

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Regions really do benefit from relocation plans – just look at Salford since the BBC’s move

I was in a meeting recently between MPs and BBC execs. The former wanted to talk about one thing: getting more of the BBC’s jobs and spending out...

12.10.2024 2

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

The Feeble Four: Tory superheroes assemble – cartoon

05.10.2024 10

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

TikTok is full of advice on how to retire early. The truth is you just need rich parents

“Here’s how to retire early,” promise TikTok’s financial influencers. But the life hacks offered never cover the most important advice: pick...

05.10.2024 30

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

What’s the secret of the supercentenarians? They don’t really exist

Earlier this month, an unusual prize ceremony got under way. Five Nobel laureates gathered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, not to...

28.09.2024 3

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Want the family firm to thrive? Then call in the professionals

Regents, stand-ins for monarchs who are too young or incapacitated, feature prominently in the history books. Scotland managed six regents for the...

21.09.2024 4

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Chris Riddell on Vladimir Putin telling the west not to let Ukraine fire long-range missiles into Russia – cartoon

14.09.2024 3

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

A smile and a sympathetic ear go a long way in politics – sadly, not far enough

If you want to persuade someone, start by listening to them. We’ve all heard that, and it sounds right. But it’s not true, concludes interesting...

14.09.2024 3

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Chris Riddell on David Cameron musing in his shepherd’s hut while Grenfell Tower burns – cartoon

07.09.2024 9

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Blame modern decisions, not just ancient history, for economic inequality

Persistence studies are all the rage in economics – using clever maths to show that events in the distant past drive political or economic outcomes...

07.09.2024 3

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

If you build hospitals, roads and railways, growth will follow

We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Nor judge a research paper by its title. “Discussion paper No.5: Public investment and potential...

31.08.2024 2

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Economists like competition but not when it comes to their own field of research

Economists are pro-competition, warning against concentrated markets – dominated by a few large firms that face too little pressure to keep prices...

24.08.2024 5

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Detectorists’ finds rewrite history by unearthing the real story of money

Detectorists is great TV. Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook wander Suffolk’s fields, making the case for all of us to take up metal detecting as they...

17.08.2024 1

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Despite appearances, Britons are more tolerant than ever

It has been a grim week. The reality that even a small minority is prepared to engage in violence, bringing racist language and acts to our...

10.08.2024 2

The Guardian

Torsten Bell

Housebuilding is a route to bigger, better homes for all, not just the rich

One of the reasons I support building more homes is it will help bring down housing costs if we keep at it. Government research finds a 1% increase...

04.08.2024 20

The Guardian

Torsten Bell